Le Corbusier (1887–1965) is one the most influential architects of the twentieth century. In the Scandinavian countries, his influence is arguably most pronounced in the writings and art of the Danish experimentalist Asger Jorn (1914–73). Their collabora­tion on Le Corbusier’s pavilion for the 1937 Paris World Exhibition sparked Jorn’s lifelong fascination with the great architect and with architecture more broadly as an inherently public form of art. At the same time, Le Corbusier started working in the visual arts and began to move from a rational, technological approach to architecture to­wards a more poetic, materialist approach.

Published in collaboration with the Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, What Moves Us? focuses specifically on the reception of Le Corbusier in Scandinavia, with the relationship between Jorn and Le Corbusier as a thematic thread. The book first highlights the architect’s change of direction and subsequently takes readers through his influence on the young artist. The book’s distinguished contributors explore the relationships that emerged among their artistic theories and practices, including Jorn’s later critique of Le Corbusier. Essays also explore the wider influence of Le Corbusier on Scandinavian architecture and ur­banization and consider Le Corbusier alongside the Danish architect Jørn Oberg Utzon and the Aarhus Brutalism movement.

Ruth Baumeister

is an author, architect, and Professor of Architectural History and Theory at Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark. She is the author of Asger Jorn in Images, Words and Forms, also published by Scheidegger and Spiess.

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Juan Calatrava

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Karen Friis

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Stanislaus von Moos

, born 1940, has been a professor of art history at University of Zürich 1983–2005 and a visiting professor of art history at Yale School of Architecture since 2010. He has published widely on architectural history, including monographs on Le Corbusier and Robert Venturi.